Between governance and governement. A tentative typology of Internet regulation modes

Raphael Canet

1/01/2005
(Original Publish Date: 2000)

Freedom of expression is the cornerstone of modern democratic regimes and no one shall question it. One delicate issue is how determine its limits. In the same manner, to claim, to promote and to recognize the right of all to communicate is completely legitimate. It is quite essential to fight against the "merchandization" and merging of information sources; to defend a pluralistic and durable conception of our cultural environment; to encourage a universal access to means of communication as well as to encourage the contribution of all to the circulating contents. However, the question is how the right of all to communicate shall be assured? Regarding the Internet, we shall explore four modes of regulation with a special emphasis on legitimacy issues associated with each of the modes foreseen: -1- Judicial mode of regulation: Judicial use of a fundamental text with legal value to insure effective respect of our right to communication; -2- Autoregulation: Implementation of codes of conduct and commitments to abide by these codes from the main actors of the Internet; -3- Coregulation: Institutionalization of a new governance framework opens to the stakeholders (States, civil society, private sector, international organizations); -4- International political regulation: New use of the traditional statutory power of the States in order to insure a consensual and multilateral regulation of the Internet.